Machine for drying tubular fabric and the like



June 19, 1956 I E. H. JOHNSON 2,750,649

MACHINE FOR DRYING TUBULAR FABRIC .AND THE LIKE Filed June 17, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. EDWIN H. JOHNSON HTFORNEYS June 19, 1956 E. H JOHNSON 5 MACHINE FOR DRYING TUBULAR FABRIC AND THE LIKE Filed June 1'7, 195s s Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

EDWIN H. JOHNSON ATTORNEYS June 19, 1956 E. H. JOHNSON MACHiNE FOR DRYING TUBULAR FABRIC AND THE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 17, 1955 8v Ms & v

INVENTOR. EDWIN H. JOHNSON BY MM HTTORNEYS United States Patent MACHINE FOR DRYING TUBULAR FABRIC AND THE LIKE Edwin H. Johnson, West Englewood, N. J., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Fitch Textile Company, Inc., College Point, Long Island, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 17, 1953, Serial No. 362,261

20 Claims. (Cl. 26-56) This invention relates to drying apparatus. More particularly it relates to drying apparatus for tubular knitted fabrics and the like. Heretofore to dry long lengths of tubular knitted fabrics and the like continuously, the fabric was fed through the apparatus in sinusoidal fashion. Large and expensive apparatus Was necessary. Such apparatus required a very large amount of space and a considerable investment.

When long lengths of such fabric were to be dried on other apparatus by the single piece or batch method, it was necessary to slide the fabric over a large tube which involved time consuming operations in disassembling and assembling the drying hood upon the tube as well as manual labor in removing the fabric. Such procedure moreover was not continuous and hence interferred with the smooth and continuous flow of materials in plants utilizing such apparatus.

Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved and less expensive apparatus which is adapted to continuously dry tubular fabric. Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus for drying tubular fabric which will involve minimum expense in its fabrication, which is light in weight, and which may be made from readily available materials.

Another object is to provide a continuously operating drying apparatus for tubular fabric in which the heat is applied upon the outside of the tubing in such a way as to penetrate and quickly dry the cloth.

Another object is to provide in apparatus of the foregoing type a means for recirculating a portion of the heated air thus to economize in the heat required and hence in the cost of opertaing the apparatus.

Another object is to provide apparatus of the foregoing type which will be adaptable to dry tubular'fabrics of different sizes. I

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear as it is described in connection with the accompanying'd rawings,

' In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation view of apparatus embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section view partly broken away of the apparatus of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section view partly broken away of the apparatus of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a fragmentarydetail view partly in section and partly in elevation of the mechanism for adjusting the height of the spreader. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section view partly broken away and partly in section of a modification of the invention. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view in perspective showing another form of spreader. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a third form of spreader and associated rolls. Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of the take-off end of the spreader structureand the take-off rolls shown in Fig. 5.

- Referring to the drawing, the apparatus comprises a conventional blower in a housing 10 having a tubular outlet 12 at one end. Any suitable conventional means to heat the air which the blower delivers may be provided 2,750,649 Patented June 19, 1956 2 the particular heating means andthe source of the hot air not being a novel feature of the invention.

At the top the housing 10 has a long narrow horizontal mouth 14 into which the tubular fabric 16 is fed in collapsed condition. Within the outlet 12 is an inner guide tube 18 supported coaxially therein by radial or other rods 19.

Supported in axial alignment with the outlet tube 18 is a spreader assembly having at one end a ball-shaped metal nose 20. This ball nose enters at one end an inch or so into the tube 18 and at the other end is supported rigidly at the apex of a conical hollow perforated sheet metal surface or screen 21. The opposite end or base of the cone 21 is fixedly secured as by welding or brazing to the periphery of a radially inwardly extending lip 22 on the edge of a hollow cylindrical drum 24. The opposite end of the drum has secured thereto by welding or otherwise a plurality of spaced parallel metal rods 28 extending axially from the drum' 24 and defining a cylindrical cage. The rods 28 may be supported and braced by spaced circular hoops 30 welded, brazed or otherwise secured thereto; and the cage may be supported by radial spokes extending from the hoops to an axial shaft 32 which runs through the spreader from the nose 20. The shaft 32 may end in a sleeve or collar 34 to enable assembly and disassembly. Another shaft 36 in alignment with shaft 32 extends from the opposite end of the sleeve 34 toward the exit end of the apparatus and is welded to one of two parallel transversely-extending arms of a flat rectangular frame 38.

Cloth tubing 16 fed through the mouth 14 is threaded through the tube 18 and over the ball nose 20. It then spreads out over the cone 21 loosely. From the cone base the tubing flares out radially along the surface of the lip 22 and thence moves around the drum 24. From the drum it passes to the cage formed by rods 28. As the end of the cage is approached the tubing is flattened out and spread laterally by a pair of converging arms 40 extending in the plane of the frame 38 from the outside edges thereof toward the shaft 32. These arms are preferably made from fiat metal bars with rounded edges to facilitate sliding of the cloth over the arms. As the tubing collapses or is flattened out, its diameter or lateral dimension increases. Hence as the tubing moves from the cylindrical form of the mid-portion of the spreader onto the flat planar form of the discharge end, its shape will become much flatter and wider.

The frame 38 is provided with a circular shaft or bar 42 thicker than the frame bars, which extends from one side of the frame to the other and is welded thereto. Mounted above andbelow the frame 38 are parallel guide rolls 44 and 46, respectively, on shafts journaled in the side frame of the apparatus in suitable journal bearings. These guide rolls 44 and 46 are spaced far enough apart to permit the double thickness of the cloth to pass between them when the outermost arm is still within the tube of the cloth. As the cloth is pulled through the apparatus the tendency of the spreader to move along with the cloth is overcome by the non-rotatable shaft 42 abutting the periphery of the rolls 44 and 6. In that way the vertical height and the centering of the shaft 36 and the frame 38, as well as the spreader at that end, is maintained. y

In order to draw off the tubing from the apparatus a pair of horizontally spaced take-off rolls 48, 50 are locloth as it passes through the machine, and to confine that blast of air to the tubing as it passes over the spreader, there is provided a sheet metal housing 60 having a circular neck 62 fitting over the tube 12. A conical midsection joins the neck to a cylindrical portion 64 surrounding the drum 24 but spaced therefrom. The cylindrical portion 64 of this open-ended housing terminates adjacent the end of the drum portion 24 of the spreader approximately adjacent the point it joins the rods 28.

The blast of hot air passing through the tube 12 blows the tubular knitted material against the imperforate sur face of the lip 22 and also against the surface of the foraminous cone 21. Since the surface of the cone 21 is of gradually increasing area, the tubular cloth is loose and in folds as it first moves over the apex of the cone and gradually spreads and tightens up as it approaches the lip 22. The diameter of the spreader drum 24 is gauged so that it will be approximately equal to the diameter of the tube of cloth when fully expanded. Obviously the size of the drum 24 may be varied to accommodate different diameters of tubing which may have to be dried in the apparatus. Generally speaking, the diameters of the tubing which the apparatus will dry will be fairly standardized. Hence the provision of a few sizes of drums 24 and accompanying spreader apparatus should suffice for most of the tubular fabrics which may have to be dried. Since the fabric is not stretched tight over the cone 21 and since the cone is perforated, the hot air may pass through the fabric and the fabric may flap, wave or move somewhat, which assists the drying action. Since the force or blast of hot air against the fabric as it passes radially outward over the lip 22 is considerable, the hot air may penetrate the cloth at that point with considerable force, facilitating the drying action. But the imperforate surface of the lip 22 prevents too great inequality of pressure on the two sides of the cloth which would press the cloth against the lip too strongly and increase the drag of the cloth over the lip undesirably.

The spreader portion of the dryer is enclosed in a large box-like housing 70 of any suitable shape having a hinged semi-cylindrical or other cover 72 (shown open in Fig. 1). Into one end of the housing 70 (right end in Figs. l-3) the duct 12 from the blower housing is connected. At the other end (the left end in Fig. 13) a conical extension 74 surrounds the emerging fabric.

Most of the moisture laden hot air is discharged from the housing 74 through an outlet in the back (not shown) to the outside of the building in which the dryer is located. Some small portion, say 10-20% of the air, however, is conducted back to the blower and air heater within the housing 1.0 by means of a return conduit 76 connecting the bottom of the housing '70 at one end with the blower housing to conserve heat and power.

Because of the weight and length of the spreader it needs support near its center of gravity. The support must fulfill two requirements. It must allow continuous movement of the tubular fabric over the spreader and it must be adjustable vertically to permit different size spreaders to be used for drying tubular fabrics of different dimensions. To satisfy those requirements a horizontal roller 89 is mounted on the end of yoke member 82 (Y-shaped or U-shaped) which is secured to and extends downwardly from the shaft 32, locating the roller transversely of the spreader in position to rest on and between two other supporting rollers 84, 86 also located transversely of the spreader but below the roller 82. Rollers 84, 86 are mounted in a vertically adjustable cradle or frame 37 extending transversely of the housing 70. Secured to the cradle is a vertically disposed rack with teeth engaged by a pinion 83 mounted on a horizontal shaft 39 of a crank 90 which is journalled in fixed bearings on the wall of the main housing 70. Vertical guides engage the cradle to guide its movement.

By rotating the crank 90 the cradle 87 and with it therolls 34 and 86 are raised or lowered. Since the rolls 84 4 and 86 support the roll 80 and spreader, their position will be adjusted vertically by the rolls 84 and 86.

To keep the spreader from moving laterally, guide rolls 91, 92 are mounted on parallel vertical axles in diametrically opposite positions alongside the cage portion of the spreader. The axles are conveniently supported from the cradle 87.

Although the form illustrated in Figs. 14 has been found satisfactory other forms of spreading means may be employed. In Fig. 5 there is illustrated another form wherein the fabric tube is passed over a horizontal delivery roll ltltl to fabricated means for initially opening up the fabricated tube. The fabricated opening means may be of generally conical shape comprising a ring 102 from the periphery of which radiate in divergent forwardly directions a series of ribs or rods 104 which terminate in a substantially annular supporting spider. The spider may comprise a plurality of radial rods or arms 106 radiating from the axis or main shaft 108 which passes longitudinally through the apparatus. The radial arms 106 are joined by a circumferential assembly comprising a series of circumferentially arranged spaced guide rollers 110 suitably mounted on bearings supported byconnect-rods or members 1.13 each extending between a pair of adjacent rollers and welded or otherwise suitably secured to a radial arm 106 and a rib 104.

Cloth passing over the spreader ribs 104 and rollers 110 is held between the rollers 110 and cooperating rollers 114 equal in number to rollers 110 and each cooperating with one of the latter. The outer guide rollers 114 are mounted on bearings coaxial with the bearings of rollers 110 and supported from connecting members 116 each extending between a pair of adjacent rollers 114. The whole assembly of outer rollers may be suitably supported from fixed parts of the drying apparatus by two or more diametrically opposite supporting rods or arm 117.

The opened tube 16 passes directly through a conduit or hollow cylindrical tube 118 of metal, molded plastic or other suitable material (similar in purpose to tube 18 in Figs. 2 and 3) supported coaxially within a cylindrical hot air conduit or housing 112 by radial struts or the like 119 at its innermost end and by an annular radial wall 126 at its outermost end. Hot air may be delivered into the conduit 112 through a duct 127 the wall 126 serving to prevent flow against the direction of movement of the fabric (indicated by arrow in Fig. 5).

From the tube 118 the fabric passes over and around a spreading device similar in some respects to that illustrated in Figs. 1-3 and comprising a ball nose 120 on the apex of a conical perforated metal surface or screen 121 the base portion of which is affixed to the radially inwardly extending lip 122 of a cylindrical drum 124.

.Around the drum 124 and connected to the conduit 112 is a housing which is preferably of cylindrical shape but may be of other suitable shape for confining the flow of hot air closely to a zone around the fabric passing over the spreader parts 121, 122, 124. The housing 130 is extended toward take-off and collecting rolls 148, 150, 152 which may be similar to those in Figs. 1-3 or arranged vertically as illustrated in Fig. 5. The end portion 130' of the housing is preferably flattened out at its discharge end to a mouth in the form of a flattened oval of width approximately the width of the take-off rolls.

Since the fabric has some tendency to move or flap Within discharge end 130' of the housing a plurality of interior spaced peripheral ribs may be attached to the inside surface thereof, tending to break up the flow of air adjacent the surface of the end 130 and to keep the fabric from remaining pressed flat against that surface.

The fabric passing 0E the drum 124 is in the same form as the drum, i. e., cylindrical. Its form must be altered in order that the fabric be capable of being rolled on the collecting roll. arms 40 in Figs. 2 and 3 may be employed together with their take-off and collecting rolls and mechanism. Alter- Therefore guide means similar to the.

natively, flattening and guide means as illustrated in Fig. 8 may be used.

Referring to Fig. 8 a plurality of longitudinally directed rods 128, extend from the spaced points on the periphery of the drum toward the discharge end and are joined by welding or in any other suitable fashion to a transverse flat bar 129 at spaced points therealong. If desired an eliptical or oval ring 130 located in a transverse plane may be affixed to and within the rods 128. The bar 129 may rest on a roller 133 on a transverse axis beneath the bar and mounted in a fixed part of the main housing or frame of the-apparatus.

In order to prevent forward movement of the spreader assembly (the tendency for which is due to the pulling of the cloth over and along the spreader) a non-rotatable cylinder 142 may be mounted transversely on a pair of longitudinal parallel arms 128e extending beyond the bar 129. The cylinder in that way can abut the two vertically disposed rolls 148, 150 (similar in purpose and function to rolls 48, 50 in Fig. 3) if the pull of the fabric becomes too strong but the fabric can still move over the cylinder and between the rolls 148, 150.

It will be noted that the apparatus shown in Fig. 5 provides for preliminary opening up of the fabric tube before it comes to the spreader and drier. The form of preliminary opening structure shown is only one of many that may be employed. Another example is illustrated in Fig. 7 wherein a frame 200 of wire or metal rod is bent or otherwise formed into a loop which is convergent or rounded at the entrance end 202 of the machine and joins side arms 204, 206 running longitudinally to a transverse back arm 208. At its center an axial rod joins transverse arm 208 and may extend to and join the nose of the spreader (either of the form of invention in Figs. 2 and 3 or in Fig. 7).

To support the opening loop 200 a roll may be pivotally mounted transversely between the arms 204, 206 on bearings supported from said arms. Below and supporting the roll 280 is a pair of parallel transversely positioned rolls 284, 286 which may be pivotally supported in bearings somewhat in the manner of rolls 80, 84 and 86 of Figs. 2 and 4. The pair of supporting rolls 284, 286 may, if desired, be power-driven by pulleys 283, 285 on the shafts of rolls 284, 286 respectively and joined by a belt 287. One or the other of the roll shafts may be driven by a pulley 288 from a belt 289 connected in any suitable fashion to take-off rolls such as 48, 50 or 148, 150, thru suitable speed regulating means.

From the foregoing it will be observed that I have provided a novel drying apparatus which may operate continuously on tubular fabric and efficiently dry the tubular fabric as it passes continuously through the apparatus. The invention also provides for its use in connection with tubular fabrics of different sizes and therefore has necessary adjustments for the location of the novel spreader structure.

The invention also provides for preliminary opening up of the fabric in such cases as may be desirable.

The invention also provides for economy in the heat necessary by provision of means to recirculate a portion of the heated air from the drying chamber back to the heating chamber.

Although several different forms of the invention are illustrated and described many modifications within the scope of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore the invention is not limited to the specific forms illustrated and described.

What is claimed is:

l. A drying machine for tubular fabric comprising a duct, means inserted into said tubular fabric and over which said fabric continually passes and is spread, means to cause a flow of hot air through said duct outside said fabric tube in the same direction as the fabric movement, said spreading means having an imperforate portion extending substantially perpendicularly to the axis of said duct, and means to direct the hot air fiow directly against the fabric passing over said portion.

2. A drying machine for tubular fabric comprising a duct, spreader means inserted into'said tubular fabric and over which said fabric continually passes and is spread, means to continuously move said fabric over said spreader means, means to cause a flow of hot air through said duct outside said fabric tube, and means to confine said hot air flow to a path closely adjacent the fabric adjacent that portion of the spreader where the fabric is most fully spread, said spreading means having an imperforate portion extending substantially perpendicularly to the axis of said duct, and means to direct the hot air flow directly against the fabric passing over said portion.

3. A drying machine for tubular fabric comprising a duct, spreader means inserted into said tubular fabric and over which said fabric continually passes and is spread, means to continuously move said fabric over said spreader means, means to cause a flow of hot air through said duct outside said fabric tube, said spreader means having asubstantially radially extending imperforate portion for spreading said fabric, said duct having means causing the flow of hot air to impinge on the fabric passing over said radially extending portion and to press the fabric against said portion to remove moisture therefrom.

4. A drying machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the spreader has a conical axially extending foraminous portion with its divergent end connected to said imperforate portion and with its apex toward the entrance end of the dryer to open up the fabric before it becomes fully spread.

5. A drying machine as claimed in claim 1 having means to pull the fabric through the duct, and means to limit the tendency of the spreader means to move axially in consequence of the longitudinal drag of the fabric.

6. A drying machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the spreader has a conical axially extending foraminous portion with its divergent end connected to said imperforate portion and with its apex toward the entrance end of the dryer to open up the fabric before it becomes fully spread, means to pull the fabric through the duct, and means to limit the tendency of the spreader means to move axially in consequence of the longitudinal drag of the fabric.

7. A drying machine as claimed in claim 6 having means arranged in advance of the spreader means to open up the fabric prior to its passing onto and over the spreader means.

8. A drying machine as claimed in claim 2 having take-off and collecting means, and a housing enclosing said spreader means and ducts, said take-off and collecting means being outside said housing.

9. A drying machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein the spreader means comprises a drum-shaped midportion, a foraminous hollow extension toward the entrance end, and a hollow framework extending toward the exit end.

10. A drying machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein the spreader means comprises a drum-shaped midportion, a foraminous hollow extension toward the entrance end, and a hollow frame work extending toward the exit end, said frame work converging at one end enabling a change in shape of the tubular fabric into flattened form.

11. A drying machine as claimed in claim 10 having means to spread the tubular fabric in flattened form.

12. A drying machine as claimed in claim 2 having means engaging the tubular fabric leaving said spreader means and maintaining it in flattened form for delivery to take-off and collecting rolls.

13. A drying machine as claimed in claim 2 having means to adjust the position vertically of the spreader means interfering with the passage of the fabric.

14. A drying machine as claimed in claim 2 having means outside the tubular fabric and over which it passes to adjust the'vertical position of the spreader means.

15. A drying machine as claimed in claim 2 having means arranged in advance of the spreader means to open up the fabric prior to its passing onto and over the spreader means.

16. A drying machine as claimed in claim 1 having a housing enclosing said spreader means and said flowcontrol means, and means to recycle a portion of the hot air from said housing and reintroduce said portion into said housing with fresh hot air.

17. A drying machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the spreader has a conical axially extending foraminous portion with its apex toward the entrance end of the dryer to open up the fabric before it becomes fully spread, a conduit through which said fabric tube is fed to said spreader means, the apex of said conical portion extending partly into said conduit.

18. A drying machine as claimed in claim 1 having means to open up the fabric prior to reaching said spreader means, said opening means including a framework over which the fabric moves, and a plurality of copcrating rolls at least one of which is within said tubular fabric and supported by said framework.

19. A drying machine as claimed in claim 1 having means to open up the fabric prior to reaching said spreader means, said opening means including diverging framework, a plurality of cooperating rolls carried by said framework and arranged to cooperate internally and externally with the tubular fabric at spaced points around its periphery.

20. A drying machine for tubular fabric comprising a housing, spreader means Within said housing inserted into said tubular fabric and over which said fabric continuously passes and is spread laterally in all directions of a 360 orbit, means to continuously move said fabric over said spreader means, means to cause a flow of hot air within said housing but outside said fabric tube in the same direction as the fabric movement and to cause said flow to impinge upon the surface thereof where spread over said spreader means, and means to confine said hot air flow to a path closely adjacent the fabric up to and adjacent that portion of the spreader where the fabric is most fully spread.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 625,169 Johnston May 16, 1899 1,313,468 Cohn Aug. 19, 1919 .1 ,484,552 Cohn Feb. 19, 1924 2,187,644 Cohn et al. Jan. 16, 1940 2,228,001 Cohn et al. Jan. 7, 1941 2,405,813 Blanchard Aug. 13, 1946 

1. A DRYING MACHINE FOR TUBULAR FABRIC COMPRISING A DUCT, MEANS INSERTED INTO SAID TUBULAR FABRIC AND OVER WHICH SAID FABRIC CONTINUALLY PASSES AND IS SPREAD, MEANS TO CAUSE A FLOW OF HOT AIR THROUGH SAID DUCT OUTSIDE SAID FABRIC TUBE IN THE SAME DIRECTION AS THE FABRIC MOVEMENT, SAID SPREADING MEANS HAVING AN IMPERFORATE PORTION EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY PREPENDICULARLY TO THE AXIS OF SAID DUCT, AND MEANS TO DIRECT THE HOT AIR FLOW DIRECTLY AGAINST THE FABRIC PASSING OVER SAID PORTION. 